Sunday Strategist: A Week of Healthy Dinners – September 28-October 2

Every Sunday, we publish a week of Cooking Light dinner plans filled with our favorite recipes—both from current issues and classics. Each meal is designed to be ready and on the table in about an hour so that you have time to enjoy the food you’ve prepared and the company of those you’ve prepared it for.

If you like having a healthy meal plan but want something customized to your dietary or caloric needs, check out The Cooking Light Diet. It’s a calorie-driven weekly meal plan—breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner—based on your dieting goals and food preferences.

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Monday: This is the perfect hands-on dinner to have the kids help with while you enjoy a glass of wine. There is a ¼ cup of dry white wine in the Sautéed Lemony Broccolini so the rest is yours to enjoy. It is Monday, after all. While the Ricotta-Spinach Dumplings are keeping warm in the marinara sauce, you will have plenty of time to cook the broccolini. Feel free to add a few cloves of garlic if you’re feeling crazy.

Tuesday: An adaptation from Jacques Pépin’s newest cookbook, our Chicken Jardinière uses pancetta to add flavor to this classic French stew. This is the absolute epitome of comfort food and will best be enjoyed surrounded by your loved ones.

Thursday: Don’t be intimidated by cooking fish because it’s simple, easy, and quick! This Seared Tilapia with Spinach and White Bean Orzo is no exception and is the perfect dish for those nights when you’d rather spend most of it relaxing and not cooking.

Friday: Fridays mean one thing to me: pizza. And nothing is packed with more veggies and nutrients than our Roasted Asparagus, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza. If you have time the night before, this can easily be made in advance and frozen. While the pizza is cooking in the oven you have plenty of time to throw together this very simple Celery and Arugula Salad as a side dish to cap off this perfect meal.

Brunch Bonus: Saturday morning calls for a treat, and we’ve got just the thing. Make a little extra of the berry mixture from our Ricotta Lemon-Blueberry waffles and use it for a yogurt topping.